The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Altar Cross

Altar Cross

c. 1300–1310
gilt copper, champlevé enamel, gemstones, on wood core
without base: 50.2 x 39.4 cm (19 3/4 x 15 1/2 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1942.1091
Location: not on view

Description

This cross is traditionally said to come from the Benedictine Abbey of Meherau on Lake Constance in today’s Austria. During the 12th and 13th centuries the abbey became wealthy through the acquisition of landed property. This beautiful cross would have likely embellished one of the abbey’s many altars where it symbolized Christ’s presence in the Mass.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 152 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 52 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 53 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 60 archive.org
    Cohen, Meredith. "The Bestiary beyond the Book." In Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World. Elizabeth Morrison and Larisa Grollemond, eds. pp. 177 - 225. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2019. Reproduced and mentioned: p. 186, cat. 38
    Hamburger, Jeffrey F., and Rabanus Maurus. Diagramming Devotion: Berthold of Nuremberg's Transformation of Hrabanus Maurus's Poems in Praise of the Cross. Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2020. Mentioned: P. 97; Reproduced: P. 99, fig. 63
  • The Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (organizer) (May 14-August 18, 2019).
    Commemoration of the Opening of the Walters Gallery Wing. Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD (organizer) (November 6-24, 1974).
  • {{cite web|title=Altar Cross|url=false|author=|year=c. 1300–1310|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.1091